“I know all about it.” She wrinkles her nose. “I’m sorry, but Ryder told me.” I’m stumped for a moment because for the life of me I can’t recall lamenting my sorority house blues to Ryder at any point in time. Dear God, I should probably get my head checked out. “About the horriblebreakup.”
“Oh, that!” To be honest, I had actually put Justin out of my head for the last hour at least. Knox seems to have that effect on me, seeing that he’s been sitting on my brain. Hey? Maybe while Knox was in full confessional mode he let Ryder in on his real feelings for me? “Right. Did he mention anything about—” Wow. Talk about painting yourself into a corner. What was I going to do? Just come out and ask if he liked me? What is this? Seventhgrade?
“Don’t worry. He let Ryder know exactly how he feels.” She lets out a little laugh and I’m getting the feeling everyone knows what I’m thinking today. If my new superpower is walking around with a cartoon bubble over my head—with all of my feral thoughts running loose, I demand a do-over. That would be less superpower and more curse if you ask me. “Youknow”—she wrinkles her nose—“that it’s all set up to get back at your exes.” She grimaces a moment. “That’s really taking one for the team. Especially considering the fact he says you can’t stand oneanother.”
My face slaps with embarrassment, and for the first time in my life I wish the floorboards would magically rot out so I could fall rightthroughthem.
“Oh, right.” My throat constricts. “It’s just a stupid game,” I say while staring blankly at the stainless-steel behemoth taking up thesouthwall.
“Oh my God.” She jumps up in front of me. “Are you okay?” Her voice grows small as if she were afraid that one more vowel might set me off, and in truth it might. I’ve never been good at hiding myemotions.
“I’m fine, I swear.” I give a mean shudder. “I guess I just thought things were moving in another direction. God, how could I be sostupid?”
“I’m so sorry,” she says each word as if it were its own dramatic sentence, and it’s all I can do to keep from bashing my skull against the creamy white marble becauseI. Am. So. Sorry—that I was suchafool.
Knox and Ryder come back and we lead the happy couple to the other two houses on the street. Laney selects the one with the white picket fence as a forerunner for her friend, Baya. Knox does most of the talking as I’ve dwindled to a whisper of the happy-go-lucky person who stepped into that office thisafternoon.
We say goodbye to Laney and Ryder who decide they’re going to walk around the yard at the house they fell inlovewith.
Knox leans in with that devilish grin and my heart does a ridiculous pitter-patter. I’d swat it like a fly if I didn’t think a good wallop wouldkillme.
“They’re all cash,” he says enthusiastically. “We could have this sale buttoned up in a few weeks. Not bad for a couple of interns without a real estate license between us. We’re a pretty good team. Not to mention the fact we’re done for the day.” He holds out his hand and I’m slow to slap him five. He pulls back a notch. “Whoa—everythingokay?”
Something about the level of concern in his voice only endears me to him that much more and my emotions beg tofloodout.
Stop. I close my eyes.You are not head over heels in love with some boy you hardly know. You are in lust! Get ahold of your head and your quivering pink parts! Down Sylvia. This boy is not heading south to meet youanytimesoon.
I take a deep breath and force a smile as I look up at his commanding features. I’m not in love with Knox, but if I were, I could totally see how something like that could happen. The boy is hellagorgeous.
“Are you free thisafternoon?”
“I’m all yours,” he says it low and slow and the aforementioned pink parts riot just begging for a single touch. It’s obvious I’m on the verge of climaxing right here in the street while under the spell of Knox Toberman’s bedroomblueeyes.
“What did you haveinmind?”
An orgasm, I want to say, but thankfully don’t. “How about we head to Jepson and I show you exactly what I haveinmind?”
* * *
No sooner dowe pull up to Jepson Uptown Gallery than I suddenly have a pang of regret. It looks like I have conveniently forgotten that my mother’s exhibit is strictly adult in nature, and looking at naked couples going at it—albeit a tad abstract—may only bring me closer to home plate, considering the boy who has me all riled up will be staunchly by my side. Both Sylvia and I are sunk into a deep level ofregret.
Crap. We head inside and I bounce past the receptionist to the main hall and find my mother on the floor sitting across from her bohemian boyfriend with a man bun and yoga wear, her new boy toy, ten years herjunior,Brad.
“Harper Jane Shelton!” Mom springs up with the grace of a ballerina and Brad follows her directive. “Is that you, or am I having a hallucination?” She wraps her armsaroundme.
“Nope. The acid must be bad. This isreality.”
“Very funny.” She pulls back and holds my hands out to inspect me. “You’re getting too thin! Eat something,wouldyou?”
Mom is beautiful with her red hair and light eyes. My father’s Blackfoot genes are certainly prominent in me, but I have that Irish red hair of hers even if I do wear it several shadesdarker.
“Dude.” Brad knuckle bumps Knox and I’m actually embarrassed at his effort to relate to the youth. He might be younger than my mother, but thedudeis still essentiallyancient.
“Mom, Brad, this is Knox—and before you get any big ideas, he’s just a friend.” I wish I had understood that beforeIgot any big ideas. My entire body weighs down with grief at the thought. I’d say easy come, easy go, but considering the fact my body is begging to detonate in exactly that fashion, I’d say there’s nothing easyaboutthis.
Knox shakes their hands in turn and I can tell my mother’s wicked wheels arespinning.
“And where’s Justin?” Her eyebrow does that fishhook thing it’s prone to do when she’s up tonogood.
